Guys, do you think Dwight Howard is already past his prime and thus without any solid fundamentals will start to deteriorate significantly over the next few years when his physical ability will start to disappear? Sorry for broken English.
Maybe, but I doubt he will get any better. However, that is still pretty danged good (best C in league), and he should last 4-5 years at least at this level. DD
Yes, a 27 year old that averaged 17 and 12 in a year that he came back several months early from back surgery is clearly on the decline. Better watch out for Asik, according to your logic, he'll be declining soon.
But Asik isn't reliant that much on his physical ability (which is almost non-existent) and should get better and have a longer steady career as a really good defender and rebounder with below-average to average offense. While in Dwight's case he really has no game without his freakish athleticism, therefore he should be good just until he-s 32-33 year old. No?
Asik has had 2 knee surgeries already. He's only one year younger than Howard. Howard is still 2X the player offensively and defensively that Asik is. Asik's offensive game is just as limited as Howard's.
I think if we don't stop starting new D Howard threads, this forum will be on the decline #BeWell #SuraFaints
Age wise, he still would look to have many more productive years left in the tank. Even Dream never truly peaked until he was 32 years old. However if you look bad at dominant big men in the league, and their production after their 10th year in the league, you almost NEVER saw an increase in production afterwards, and most of them declined rapidly because of injury issues. Dwight is an interesting case because of the amount of time he's already been in the league, and the mileage his body has taken over the years in Orlando. However, the good news is even if he sustains his production from where he is now for another 4 or 5 years, he's still going to be a top 3 Center in the game, and the best defensive/rebounding Center in the game. Even playing injured and in a wierd situation in LALA land last year, Howard gave production that Asik will probably never touch in his career. So yes, Dwight is still worth a max contract, and makes a ton of sense in Houston ESPECIALLY since they have a very good big man in Asik who can help save minutes from Dwight to keep him much more fresh and less beaten up over the longhaul (or before they trade Asik). But as far as production goes, I wouldn't necessarily expect Dwight to ever increase his production or drastically get better from a skillset standpoint. The one thing I could see him getting better at though that would make his impact incredible, as small as it may seem, will be at the free throw line.
Well he carried a very heavy team to the NBA Finals, its obvious he's going to have back problem. I feel he'll recovered 90% when he comes here and our team will also improve. Dare I say 2013-2014 NBA champions?
Centers stay productive for a long time unless their knees/feet give out. Deke, Dream, Shaq, Ewing, Mourning, Robinson, and Sabonis were all very productive until they were close to 40.
He is on his way down, that's for sure. Unless, he's taken care of his body and he is ready to go Orlando-esque again. If I were GM, I would do EVERYTHING in my power to get DAVID WEST in a Rockets uniform. That's quality, efficiency, dependability, heart and talent right there. If Dwight doesn't work out, and LaMarcus is untouchable, David West is the most underrated, talented PF out there. Indiana does not give him the touches he deserves.
Huh? Dependability? You do know West has had injury issues for YEARS. Just how Asik hasn't had an issue this year the same goes for West but before this season he was missing games left and right. Bad back needed surgery. Bad elbow needed surgery and then a torn ACL. No thanks.
